Small Business Finance Blog

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FEMA Will Buy Your Business if Sandy Repair Costs Are Too High

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Finance expert Mike Periu on the possibility of FEMA Will Buy Your Business in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. As conditions in the northeast gradually return to normal, many small-business owners are faced with the daunting task of rebuilding their businesses. In some cases, the damage to the store, warehouse or facility may be so great that repairing it isn't worth it. In other cases the insurance policy payout may be insufficient to cover the costs of rebuilding. One solution may be … [Read more...]

Create a Budget-Oriented Culture in Your Business

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Finance expert Mike Periu on how to Budget-Oriented Culture in Your Business. Create a budget-friendly business for your employees. Early stage businesses govern their operations more by vision than by a budget. This makes sense, because without a track record it's difficult to develop a credible budget. But over time as the business expands, it needs structure to grow successfully. If your employees are not accustomed to working with a budget, it could lead to culture shock and the false … [Read more...]

How Survival Is Becoming Good Business

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A post-apocalyptic emergency? The demand is so high. Survival Is Becoming Good Business. Would you buy a year's worth of freeze-dried food for $1,500 to survive a post-apocalyptic emergency? The demand is so high, that Walmart and Costco now offer it for sale. This is just one example of the products that are part of a growing billion-dollar survival industry. Other items such as weather radios, kerosene heaters, D batteries, candles, generators, industrial fans for drying soggy homes and gas … [Read more...]

What You Need to Know About Equipment-Lease Renewals

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Finance expert Mike Periu on the ins and outs of equipment-lease renewals. For leasing equipment, a typical agreement is for a fixed term that ranges from 12 to 60 months and requires monthly or quarterly payments. Many equipment lease contracts also come with an automatic renewal provision, which extends the lease for an additional 12 months with the lessee paying the same amount as in the final month of the original lease term. For some small businesses, this is a good deal. If the equipment … [Read more...]

How Fiscal Cliff Negotiations May Impact Housing

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Finance expert Mike Periu on the potential for big changes to the housing marketing. Cliff Negotiations May Impact Housing. If Congress and the President can agree to a fiscal cliff compromise, it is almost certain that changes impacting the housing market will be a part of the deal. It's likely that the Mortgage Interest Deduction will be scaled back significantly or even eliminated entirely, making homeownership more expensive and less attractive compared to renting. However, it could also … [Read more...]

The Increasing Probability of a Recession

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Finance expert Mike Periu on the increasing probability of a recession. Jeremy Piger, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Oregon, has developed a new model for determining the probability of an impending U.S. recession. The Federal Reserve Economic Dataset (FRED) has added Piger's model to its information database. The model looks at four variables: non-farm payroll employment, the index of industrial production, real personal income excluding transfer payments and real … [Read more...]

business structure to receive the maximum tax advantage

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Finance expert Mike Periu on whether your business is structured to receive the maximum tax advantage. Is Your Business Maximizing Its Tax Advantages? While taxes have always been an important factor to consider when making business decisions, their importance will go up significantly. One way small-business owners can ensure that they are managing taxes as efficiently as possible is to structure the business correctly from a legal perspective. When was the last time you evaluated if a … [Read more...]

Small-Business Owners: What to Expect in the Next Four Years?

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Finance expert Mike Periu on the financial challenges that may lie ahead for small-business owners. What to Expect in the Next Four Years? The next four years may prove challenging for small-business owners. According to Dr. Jeffrey Cornwall, the Jack C. Massey Chair in Entrepreneurship and Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn, it is a near certainty that taxes on small businesses will increase. This includes the potential approval of a Value … [Read more...]

Framework for Fiscal Cliff Compromise

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Finance expert Mike Periu on the framework for fiscal cliff compromise that is already in place. In mid-2011, Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner and Democrat President Barak Obama were negotiating a deficit reduction. While that negotiation ultimately failed, the terms of that deal could serve as a starting point for negotiations on addressing the fiscal cliff. In that potential deal, both sides had agreed to a tax increase as well as spending cuts. Also on the table were changes to … [Read more...]

Businesses Get Ready for Small Business Saturday

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Finance expert Mike Periu on the upcoming Small Business Saturday event. Small Business Saturday (SBS) was a great success last year and many retailers are counting on it to help boost sales in an otherwise difficult year. Across the country, small-business owners and SBS coordinators are preparing their promotional and social media campaigns to gain maximum exposure. Many local SBS campaigns are emphasizing "local" (not just small), and are driving shoppers to support businesses owned by … [Read more...]